Nest Labs Inc., a unit of Google Inc., has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging its revolutionary thermostat that can be remotely controlled from smartphones and tablets fails to accurately gauge and control temperature.

Plaintiff Justin Darisse filed his complaint Tuesday in California federal court. According to the class action lawsuit, the Nest Learning Thermostat is a “sleek ‘new generation’ thermostat that was supposed to revolutionize thermostats, not unlike the iPod revolutionized music playing devices.” While the device is aesthetically “cool,” it “fails at even the most basic function of a thermostat: accurately gauging and controlling temperature.”

Darisse claims that he purchased the Nest thermostat in the fall of 2013 for about $249.99 from Amazon.com after reading product reviews and promotional materials that promised accurate temperature readings and energy savings. Based on these representations, Darisse says he paid a substantial premium for the product over the price of traditional thermostats.

“Defendant’s marketing conveys a simple message: Nest saves money,” the class action lawsuit says. Nest’s advertising materials stressed the importance of controlling ambient temperature to create long-term energy and cost savings. Darisse points to numerous marketing materials that portray Nest as an effective way to save money on energy costs. These materials tout the device’s energy-saving features, including its ability to learn about users’ preferences, be controlled remotely from a mobile device, and shut down when people are away.

However, Darisse insists that Nest’s marketing campaign consists of false statements designed to convince people to pay a premium for their defective thermostat. “Contrary to Defendant’s colorful advertising campaign, Nest does not accurately read temperature and, as a result, does not save energy or decrease energy bills,” the class action lawsuit says.

The class action lawsuit alleges that despite the defendant’s assertions that Nest will lead to energy savings, the device actually increases energy use because it cannot correctly gauge a room’s ambient temperature. “Nest’s base and faceplate heat up, which causes Nest’s temperature reading to be from two to ten degrees higher than the actual ambient temperature in the surrounding room,” the class action lawsuit says. “This defect prevents the thermostat from working properly. As a result, Nest users do not experience the advertised energy savings.”

Darisse says he would not have purchased Nest if he had known that the product was unable to perform basic functions of a thermostat. He also points to numerous reports from Nest customers who have similarly reported inaccurate readings that lead to increased energy use. By filing the class action lawsuit, Darisse seeks to represent a class of all persons in the United States who purchased Nest Thermostats for personal or household use.

The class action lawsuit alleges breach of express and implied warranty, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, violations of California’s false advertising law and other claims. Darisse seeks compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief, restitution, and all other relief the court deems proper.

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.

6 Comments

This is ironic…….I have two Nests in our home for a little over a year and while I’m pleased with the tech side…temperatures in my home have varied widely compared to the programable Honeywell thermostats they replaced. Just last month I had an AC repair service give me an estimate to move both thermostats to where we sleep and spend most of the day and I put it off because that would be another $300 expense. Currently the thermostats are over the return air vents which is where most are located. But…the theory of the metal housing retaining heat and affecting the Nests ability to measure ambient air temperature does make sense. Now I’m even questioning the effectiveness of the product. Hummmmm